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Hello, everyone! I am happy to be writing this during the cooler morning temperatures that tell us fall weather is on the way. As the senior director of the Intensive English Program, I want to express how happy I am that you have chosen to study with us at the University of Mississippi. I hope that you have been enjoying your time with us so far, though I know that studying full-time in another language is difficult. I want to encourage you to continue to work hard, but you should also make time for developing friendships and having fun. Making American friends can seem like an impossible task! And while it isn’t impossible, it can be hard. One important thing to remember is that most Americans would really like to be friends with you—they just don’t know how to do it! You might have to smile and introduce yourself to a lot of people before you find a new friend, so be brave. Sharing an interesting story or fact
from your culture is a good way to break the ice, and if you are having difficulty finding people to talk to, remember that you can take advantage of the many activities that are happening every day here on campus. I hope that you continue to have a good fall semester here in the IEP, and I wish you good luck with your classes! Dr. Whitney Sarver Senior Director Intensive English Program
Staff and Contributors:
Student writers: Chaeyoung Kim, Sachi Tamaki, Mizuki Kato, Tin Tin, Yurika, Koise, Chen,
Tomomi Inoue, Maki Higashida, Shiori Fujii, Sunmin Lee
Faculty Advisor: Dinorah Sapp
Editor: Shuang Cheng
Page 1
When we first came to the U.S., there were so many differences between the U.S. and our home countries: Vietnam, Japan and China. There are some of the first impressions we would like to share: the differences between the US and Asian countries, such as food, study life and lifestyle. Firstly, we would like to write about the food. We all agree that American food is oily, salty, sweet and unhealthy, which would less likely happen in our home countries.
In Vietnam there are more vegetables on the side of the food, and we’d rather steam the food than fry it. Besides that, food in Japan doesn’t use a lot of oil, sugar and salt. That’s why the Japanese students think it is probably the reason making many Americans obesity. Chinese student said that they don’t eat raw food as same as Americans or other countries’.
Secondly, there are many differences between the study life in the U.S. and in our home countries. For example: in China and Japan, the normal classroom is available for fifty to sixty five students in each class, where teacher cannot focus on each student like American teachers do. Moreover, in Vietnam students are not allowed to speak out in class which is somehow considered as disrespectful to teachers. But in the U.S. teachers encourage students to speak out their ideas and what they are thinking. This makes the class more interesting.
which can be considered as culture’s differences. For example, Japanese take a bath in a hot tub every night but Americans only take a quick shower in the morning.
Finally, we also have many differences in lifestyle,
The first impression of the United States of America
IEP Student Newsletter
First impression of the US By Chaeyoung Kim, Sachi Tamaki, Mizuki Kato
When we came here first time, we realized there were many different things between
our countries and the US. We’re going to talk about food, language and people. There
are many positive things and negative things.
Chinese students tend to be shyer and
do not like the party in their house,
which is different from American
students.
They like to host the party at their house
and invite a lot of friends to come and
join the party. In addition, in Vietnam
when we go to restaurants, we like to
make a signal to get the waitress or
waiter attention by waving them. But
Page 2
Americans only wait until the waiter or
waitress come and ask them what they
need.
In conclusion, all countries have all
different cultures, which somehow
make the world become a more
interesting place in the universe. It will
bring people together when they are
learning another language and culture.
This essay may help some foreign
students to have the small idea that
how different between their home
countries and the U.S.
IEP Student Newsletter
IEP Student Newsletter
Firstly, American food is very different from our countries’. Almost all foods are
salty here, for example, pizza. We thought pizza is preserved with salt. In addition, food is also too oily for us. For example, most fried foods, snacks, even vegetables are too oily. Once we eat American food, we feel that our mouth remain oily for a long time. Lastly, the amount of food is much bigger than in our countries. If we go to the restaurants here, we don’t need to order a lot of food. So we can save our money.
Secondly, although we learned English for a long time, we still face language barrier. First, People in Oxford have different accent from what we used to learn, so it’s
difficult to understand. Second, they use a lot of slangs. Sometimes we can’t catch what they say. Third, English words have similar pronunciations, so sometimes we misunderstand them. For example, “won’t” and “want” are very similar to us. Our friend once told us “I won’t go to the party” but we heard as “I want to go to the party”. Lastly, they speak too fast, so we can only catch a few words.
Finally, we found American’s personalities are very different in comparison with people’s personalities in our countries. Firstly, they are racism. Sometimes we felt that they ignore Asians. Secondly, they are not punctual. For example if we make an appointment to meet at 8:00, but they come at 9:00 without contacting us earlier, and they don’t say sorry at all. But they are friendly. They usually say “hello” or
“how are you” to us although we meet for first time. Furthermore they have “lady first” habit. They always open doors for ladies and wait for ladies.
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Page 4
American culture is very different from our countries’. As we said the food tastes
different, language accent is different with what we learned before, and American
personalities are also different compare to our countries’. Although we face many
challenges and problems, we are sure we’ll get used to this culture.
The reasons why Japan is famous for traveling
Japan, located in the Pacific Ocean, is an
island country in East Asia. The
population of 126 million is the world’s
tenth largest. Approximately 9.1 million
people live in the core city Tokyo, the
capital of Japan. Tokyo is the sixth largest
city in the OECD (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and
Development), and the fourth leading
global city in the world. Japan is a good
place for traveling because there are so
many attractions and tasty traditional food.
For instance, Japan has many conventional
places like temple and castle. Temple is the
place for worshiping Japanese Buddhism.
Almost every Japanese state has at least
one temple, while in large cultural center
like Kyoto, there are hundreds of
temples. There are also many traditional
castles in Japan, such as Osaka Castle.
On the other hand, there are a lot of
urban places in Japan, such as Tokyo Sky
Tree and good downtowns. Furthermore,
there are so many delicious endemic
foods made of fishes and shellfishes in
Japan. Because many areas in Japan are
comprised of islands so, it is suitable to
take many fishes and shellfishes. This
essay will introduce three best cities in
Japan; Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto.
IEP Student Newsletter
Page 5
First, Kyoto is a famous place for
traveling. There are so many things
attractive to tourists. Especially,
visitors can experience Japanese
traditional culture. For example, people
are able to see many traditional temples
and shrines. One of the most famous
temples is Kiyomizu temple. People
can enter the temple and overlook the
town of Kyoto. The view is beautiful.
In addition, the traditional sweet called
"Wagashi" is attracting visitors.
Wagashi is a Japanese traditional
sweet, which is like a small ball and
mostly filled with sweet red bean paste,
but sometimes it is filled with jellies,
fruits and nuts. You can feel the
Japanese taste while eating them.
Tourists are able to see traditional
things in Kyoto. Therefore, Kyoto is
one of the most famous places for
tourists.
Second, there are also many interesting
places in Osaka. The most popular
place in Osaka for foreign tourists is
Shinsaibashi. It’s a big downtown, with
a lot of restaurants, shops and
entertainments. If people want Japanese
products like electric appliances,
cosmetics or souvenirs, they can buy all
of them there. Also, people can go to
party at night. There are so many dance
clubs and bars. Many foreign tourists
would like to visit Shinsaibashi these
days.
Because of this, many restaurants have
menus written in your country’s
language, especially in English,
Chinese and Korean. You won’t be in
trouble in language. If tourists plan to
visit Osaka, they should go to this
town, and they can find everything
there. The second most popular
sightseeing site in this area is Osaka
castle. It was built in 1868 by
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who was a
military commander in Japan around
400 years ago.
IEP Student Newsletter
Page 6
It looks luxurious and it makes people
imagine the strength and power of
Hideyoshi. If people are interested in
Japanese history, they will enjoy
visiting there.
Third, Tokyo is popular for visitors as
well. Tokyo is the capital city of Japan.
In Tokyo, the Tokyo Sky Tree is
famous as a broadcast tower, and it is
now more popular than Tokyo tower,
because it is the tallest tower in the
world, and the second tallest structure
in the world. You can see the panoramic
view of Tokyo. Also, Kaminarimon in
Asakusa is famous because there is a
Japanese huge red lantern, a symbol of
Asakusa. In addition, food in Tokyo is
also famous. First, it is Monjayaki.
Monjayaki is a local food in Tokyo. It
is like Okonomiyaki, which is
Japanese savory pancake containing a
variety of ingredients. Monjayaki has a
longer history than Okonomiyaki,
so people should try Monjayaki before
Okonomiyaki. Second, it is Sushi.
People can eat fresh low-cost fish in
Tsukiji Market. For example, in Tsukiji
Market, people can eat a bowl of rice
topped with fresh seafood at a low price,
and they can see a tuna filleting display
as well. Therefore, a lot of tourists visit
Tokyo.
In conclusion, Japan is one of the
most famous places in the world for
traveling, especially in Kyoto, Osaka
and Tokyo. Kyoto has a lot of traditional
things. In Osaka, people are able to shop
products made in Japan. In addition,
most restaurants in Osaka have menus
with different languages, so tourists
don't need to worry about languages.
Tokyo has some famous food like
Monjyayaki and Sushi. Therefore,
visitors will enjoy in Japan, and Japan is
popular for traveling.
IEP Student Newsletter